Musculoskeletal Injuries in Tennis

It is estimated that tens of millions of people play tennis in the United States [1,2]. More than half a million are adolescents [3], and growing num-ber of seniors continue to play tennis [4]. The results of epidemiologic studies in tennis players have shown some variability in injury patterns [5–9]. The most common types of injury in tennis players of all ages are muscle and ligament strains or sprains secondary to overuse. These are a par-ticular problem in the adolescent group, because, in general, this group begins playing with a lower level of physical conditioning. Injuries in the younger players are usually not long-standing, and the overuse (chronic) problems seen in the older players, such as patellar tendinosis and tennis elbow, are less common in younger players [10]. Lower limb injuries are twice as common as those of the upper limb or spine in young players, with ankle injuries being the most common [10]. Injuries to the back, neck, and groin occur at a rate roughly equal to that of upper extremity problems [11]. Virtually all the previous studies evaluating patterns of injuries in young tennis players have focused on male players [5,6,8,9,12]. The number of women participating in sports, including tennis, has risen dramatically since the 1970s, however. In general, injury patterns are observed to be more sports specific than gender specific. Nevertheless, female athletes do tend to have more frequent patellofemoral problems, have less upper extremity strength, and begin competition at a lower level of physical conditioning than male athletes [10]